4 
* 


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BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

<> 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


'SPEECH 


OF 


HOE  CHARLES  D.  POSTCffl, 


OP 


ARIZONA, 


°N 


DELIVERED  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 


THURSDAY,  MAECH  2,  1865. 


NEW    YORK: 

EDMUND    JONKS    &    CO.,    PRINTERS, 

No     26   JOHN    STREET. 

I860. 


-• 


Bancroft  ISSS& 


IN  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  WHOLE  CONSIDERING  THE 
MISCELLANEOUS  APPROPKIATION  BILL  : 

Mr.  POSTON".    I  move  to  amend  by  inserting  the  following  clause : 

For  colonizing  friendly  Indians  in  Arizona  on  a  reservation  on  the  Colorado  river  and 
supplying  them  with  implements  of  husbandry  and  seeds  to  enable  them  to  become  self- 
sustaining,  the  sum  of  $150,000,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs. 

I  desire  to  say  that  in  the  very  short  time  that  the  Territory  of  Arizona 
has  had  the  honor  of  representation  on  this  floor  it  has  been  impossible  to 
-  mature  and  pass  through  the  proper  committees  measures  providing  for  the 
settlement  and  regulation  of  Indian  affairs  in  that  Territory.  I  am  therefore 
obliged  to  rely  upon  the  generosity  of  the  House  to  adopt  the  amendment 
which  is  now  presented.  It  is  essentially  necessary  that  the  friendly  Indians 
of  Arizona  should  be  colonized  upon  a  reservation  before  the  white  settlers 
can  enter  upon  an  exploration  of  the  rich  mineral  resources  of  that  Territory 
without  danger  of  collision,  and  as  a  great  benefit  to  both  Indians  and  whites 
the  measure  will  commend  itself  to  every  sense  of  justice,  policy,  and 
economy. 

Mr.  "WIKDOM.  I  simply  desire  to  say  that  this  proposition  was  before 
the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs,  and  was  carefully  examined  by  them. 
Maps  and  reports  on  the  subject,  and  a  communication  from  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  and  the  committee  were  unanimously  in  favor  of  the  proposi 
tion  ;  but  there  not  being  time  to  get  a  bill  through  the  House,  the  gentleman 
from  Arizona  was  advised  to  take  this  course  and  test  the  sense  of  the  House 
on  the  question. 

Mr.  POSTON".  Mr.  Chairman,  Arizona,  more  than  any  other  Territory  of 
the  United  States,  rises  to  the  dignity  of  historic  fame ;  it  is  even  pro-historic, 
reaching  far  back  into  the  dim  traditions  of  the  Aztecs.  As  everywhere  else 
on  earth,  the  history  of  man  is  here  distinctly  marked  by  the  struggle  between 
civilization  and  barbarism.  The  Aztecs  lived  in  continual  warfare  with  the. 
barbarous  tribes  of  the  mountains,  and  their  descendants  to  this  day  maintain 
the  warfare  bequeathed  to  them  by  their  ancestors.  The  Aztecs  were 
peaceable,  industrious  Indians,  living  by  the  pursuits  of  agriculture,  dwelling 


in  communities,  and  exercising  a  system  of  government  with  eminent  prin 
ciples  of  justice.  The  barbarians  of  the  mountains  were  their  natural  foes, 
and  finally  drove  them  into  Southern  Mexico,  leaving  only  a  few  degenerate 
descendants  in  the  north. 

The  Spanish  explorers  found  a  very  interesting  race  of  Indians  in  that  part 
of  the  continent  now  belonging  to  the  United  States  and  designated  as  the 
Territory  of  Arizona.  A  knowledge  of  these  remote  people  was  first  given 
to  the  European  world  by  the  romantic  expedition  of  Oabeza  de  Vacca, 
who  crossed  the  continent  from  the  savannas  of  Florida  to  the  mountains  of 
New  Mexico  in  1538.  In  these  remote  regions  he  found  a  people  bearing 
evidences  of  European  origin  and  practicing  many  of  the  arts  of  civilization. 
They  were  supposed  to  be  the  descendants  of  the  colony  of  the  Welsh  Prince 
Madoc,  who  sailed  from  Wales  for  the  New  World  in  the  eleventh  century — 
celebrated  in  song  by  Southey.  They  are  now  called  Moquis,  and  I  beg 
leave  to  call  your  attention  to  their  present  condition  as  described  in  an 
official  report  of  Colonel  Christopher  Carson,  first  cavalry  New  Mexican 

volunteers. 

HEADQUARTERS  NAVAJO  EXPEDITION,  December  G,  1863. 

CAPTAIN  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report,  for  the  information  of  the  department  com 
mander,  that  on  the  15th  ultimo  I  left  this  post  with  companies  C,  D,  G,  H,  and  L,  first 
cavalry  New  Mexican  volunteers,  dismounted,  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  country 
west  of  the  Oribi  villages,  and  if  possible  to  chastise  the  Navajoes  inhabiting  that  region. 
On  the  16th  I  detached  thirty  men  with  Sergeant  Andreas  Herrera,  of  company  C  first 
cavalry  New  Mexic.au  volunteers,  on  a  fresh  trail  which  intersected  our  route.  The 
sergeant  followed  the  trail  for  twenty  miles,  when  he  overtook  a  small  party  of  Nava- 
joes,  two  of  whom  he  killed,  wounded  two,  and  captured  fifty  head  of  sheep  and  one 
horse.  En  route  the  party  came  on  a  village  lately  deserted,  which  they  destroyed. 
The  energy  and  zeal  displayed  by  the  sergeant  and  his  party  on  this  occasion  merit  my 
warmest  approbation. 

On  the  21st  arrived  at  Moqui  village.  I  found  on  my  arrival  that  the  inhabitants  of 
all  the  villages,  except  the  Oribis,  had  a  misunderstanding  with  the  Navajoes,  owing  to 
some  injustice  perpetrated  by  the  latter.  I  took  advantage  of  this  feeling,  and  succeeded 
in  obtaining  representatives  from  all  the  villages,  Oribi  excepted,  to  accompany  me  on 
the  war  path.  My  object  in  insisting  upon  parties  of  these  people  accompanying  me 
was  simply  to  involve  them  so  far  that  they  could,  not  retract ;  to  bind  them  to  us  and 
place  them  in  antagonism  to  the  Navajoes.  They  were  of  some  service,  and  manifested 
a  great  desire  to  aid  in  every  respect.  While  on  this  subject  I  would  respectfully  repre 
sent  that  these  people,  numbering  some  four  thousand  souls,  are  in  a  most  deplorable 
condition,  from  the  fact  that  the  country  for  several  miles  around  their  village  is  quite 
barren,  and  is  entirely  destitute  of  vegetation. 

They  have  no  water  for  purposes  of  irrigation,  and  their  only  dependence  for  subsist 
ence  is  on  the  little  corn  they  raise  when  the  weather  is  propitious,  which  is  not  always 


5 

tlie  case  in  this  latitude.  They  are  a  peaceable  people,  have  never  robbed  or  murdered 
the  people  of  New  Mexico,  and  are  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  fostering  care  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  Of  the  bounty  so  unsparingly  bestowed  by  it  on  other  Pueblo  Indians,  ay, 
even  on  the  marauding  bands,  they  have  never  tasted,  and  I  earnestly  recommend  that 
the  attention  of  the  Indian  Bureau  be  called  to  this  matter.  I  understand  that  a  couple 
of  years'  annuities  for  the  Navajoes,  not  distributed,  are  m  the  possession  of  the  super 
intendent  of  Indian  affairs  at  Santa  Fe,  and  I  consider  that,  if  such  an  arrangement  would 
be  legal,  these  goods  would  be  well  bestowed  on  these  people. 

C.  CARSON, 

Colonel  First  Cavalry  New  Mexican  Volunteers. 
Captain  BENJAMIN  C.  CUTLER,  A.  A.  G. 

In  antagonism  to  these  interesting  people  we  have  the  barbarous  Apaches, 
the  Bedouins  of  the  desert  and  the  robbers  of  the  mountains. 

Time  immemorial  their  hand  has  been  against  every  man  and  every  man's 
hand  against  them;  they  disdain  to  labor,  and  live  by  robbery  and  plunder. 
For  three  centuries  they  have  stayed  Ihe  progress  of  civilization  in  that  part 
of  the  continent,  and  now  hold  its  richest  mineral  treasures  from  the  grasp 
of  the  white  man.  They  have  successfully  defended  their  mountain  homes 
against  the  Spaniards,  the  Mexicans,  and  the  Americans.  A  few  hardy  and 
enterprising  Americans  have  been  endeavoring  to  penetrate  that  El  Dorado 
for  several  years,  but  for  want  of  military  support,  and  on  account  of  the 
desolating  war  which  has  spread  its  ravages  to  the  confines  of  Arizona,  they 
are  yet  prevented  from  exploring  that  inviting  field  of  mineral  wealth.  The 
subjugation  or  extermination  of  this  merciless  tribe  is  a  measure  of  stern  jus 
tice  which  ought  not  to  be  delayed.  Their  subjugation  would  open  to  our 
hardy  miners  an  unexplored  gold  field  north  of  the  Gila,  which  the  Spaniards 
considered  the  true  El  Dorado.  A  sickly  sympathy  for  a  few  beastly  savages 
should  not  stand  in  the  way  of  the  development  of  our  rich  gold  fields,  or  the 
protection  of  our  enterprising  frontiersmen.  The  settlers  around  the  capital 
(Prescott)  have  kept  one  hundred  men  in  the  field  for  more  than  a  year  at 
their  own  expense ;  their  leader,  Colonel  King  Woolsey,  had  been  ruined  by 
the  Apaches,  and  adopted  this  method  of  retaliation.  They  have  waited  in 
vain  for  the  protection  of  the  .military  branch  of  the  Government,  and  were 
forced  in  self-defense  to  take  the  matter  in  their  own  hands. 

The  Pimas  and  Maricopas  are  a  confederated  tribe,  living  on  the  Gila  river 
one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  from  its  confluence  with  the  Colorado.  They 
are  an  agricultural  people,  living  entirely  by  the  cultivation  of  the  soil, 
and  number  some  seven  thousand  five  hundred  souls.  They  have  always 
been  friendly  to  the  Americans,  and  boast  that  up  to  this  day  they  do  not 


6 

know  the  color  of  the  white  man's  blood.  They  hold  one  of  the  strongest 
positions  on  the  continent,  accessible  only  after  crossing  deserts  in  every 
direction,  and  have  here  defended  their  homes  and  fields  against  the  barbarous 
Apaches  from  time  immemorial.  The  early  Spanish  explorers  found 
them  here  in  1540,  and  ruined  houses  of  grand  proportions  attest  their  occu 
pation  for  thousands  of  years  before  the  Spaniards  came.  To  the  north,  for 
several  hundred  miles,  ruined  cities,  fortifications,  and  the  remain  s  of  irrigat 
ing  canals,  indicate  the  places  formerly  occupied  by  a  race  now  passed  away, 
without  having  left  any  history.  The  researches  of  the  antiquarian  are  in 
vain,  and  the  degenerate  Indian  of  the  present  day  answers  all  questions 
about  past  grandeur  with  the  mystic  name  of  Montezuma.  The  Pimas 
know  no  more  of  their  origin  than  if  they  had  come  out  of  the  ground,  as 
their  tradition  intimates.  They  have  no  religion,  and  worship  no  deity,  un 
less  a  habit  of  hailing  the  rising  sun  with  an  orison  may  be  the  remains  of 
some  sun-worshiping  tribe.  They  are  exceedingly  jealous  of  their  females  ; 
and  their  chastity,  as  far  as  outside  barbarians  are  concerned,  remains,  with 
a  few  exceptions,  unimpeachable.  They  have  a  very  good  tract  of  land,  set 
apart  by  metes  and  bounds  plainly  marked,  have  their  irrigating  canals  in 
good  condition,  and  present  every  evidence  of  a  thrifty  population,  producing 
more  than  they  consume. 

They  deserve  the  highest  consideration  of  this  Congress.  It  would  have  been 
impossible  for  the  Government  troops  in  that  Territory  to  have  subsisted 
there  but  for  the  supplies  furnished  by  these  Indians.  They  are,  in  fact,  the 
laboring  population  of  that  Territory.  They  produce  supplies  both  for  the 
army  and  for  the  miners.  They  were  colonized  by  the  Spanish  Jesuits  a  hun 
dred  and  fifty  years  ago,  and  they  are  monuments  of  the  civilization  and  pros 
perity  of  that  country  at  that  time.  They  have  cultivated  the  land  there 
from  time  immemorial.  When  the  Spaniards  entered  that  country  three  hun 
dred  and  forty  years  ago,  they  found  these  Indians  in  a  high  state  of  civiliza 
tion.  It  is  a  good  country  for  agricultural  purposes,  and  during  my  adminis 
tration  of  Indian  affairs  in  that  Territory  the  last  year  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
contributing  something  to  the  improvement  of  those  Indians  by  giving  them 
cotton  seed,  hoes,  spades,  shovels,  &c. 

The  Papagos  are  a  branch  of  the  great  Piina  tribe,  speaking  the  same 
language  and  having  the  same  manners  and  customs,  modified  by  civilization ; 
the  only  difference  is,  that  upon  being  baptized  they  were  originally  called 
Vapconia,  in  their  language  Christians,  which  has  been  corrupted  into 
Papagos ;  they  also  cut  their  hair  short  and  wear  a  hat,  and  such  clothing  as 


they  can  get.  The  Papagos  all  live  south  of  the  Gila  river,  in  that  arid 
triangle  known  as  the  western  part  of  the  Gadsden  purchase.  Their  lot  is 
cast  in  an  ungrateful  soil ;  but  the  softness  of  the  climate  reconciles  them  to 
their  location,  and  contentment  is  their  happiness.  The  fruit  of  the  cereus 
giganteus  furnishes  them  with  bread  and  molasses ;  they  plant  in  the  rainy 
season,  raise  cattle,  hunt,  and  labor  in  the  harvest  fields.  Their  principal 
settlement  is  around  the  old  mission  church  of  San  Xavier  del  Bac,  nine  miles 
south  of  Tucson.  This  mission  was  founded  by  the  Jesuits  in  1670,  and  is  the 
grandest  architectural  monument  in  northern  Mexico.  Upon  the  expulsion 
of  the  Jesuits  from  Mexico  they  gave  the  Indians  a  solemn  injunction  to 
preserve  the  church,  promising  to  return  at  a  future  day.  It  was  a  strange 
.coincidence  that  two  Jesuit  fathers  from  the  Santa  Clara  College,  in  Cali 
fornia,  accompanied  us  to  their  long-neglected  neophytes.  They  were 
received  by  the  Indians  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy  ;  and,  amid  the 
ringing  of  bells  and  explosion  of  fireworks  entered  into  possession  of  the  long- 
neglected  mission  of  San  Xavier.  These  pious  fathers  immediately  commenced 
laboring  with  the  zeal  and  fidelity  of  their  order,  and  in  a  few  days  had  the 
mass  chanted  regularly  by  the  Papagos  maidens,  with  the  peculiar  soft 
ness  of  their  language.  Every  facility  was  rendered  the  holy  fathers  in 
holding  intercourse  with  the  Indians,  and  a  great  improvement  was  soon 
perceptible  in  their  deportment  and  habits.  They  seemed  entering  upon  a 
new  era  of  moral  and  material  prosperity  refreshing  to  witness.  The  captain, 
Jose  Victoriana  Solorse,  is  a  highly  intelligent  Indian,  and  is  exercising  a 
beneficent  influence  on  the  tribe.  The  family  relations  of  the  Papagos  are 
conducted  with  morality,  and  their  women  are  examples  of  chastity  and 
industry.  These  deserving  people  should  have  additional  aid  to  enable  them 
to  colonize  the  straggling  members  of  the  tribe ;  their  principal  wants  are 
agricultural  implements,  carts,  wheel-barrows,  axes,  and  hoes.  With  the 
necessary  aids  in  agricultural  implements  they  can  soon  produce  a  surplus  to 
exchange  for  clothing  and  the  comforts  of  life,  so  that  they  will  be  an 
advantage  to  the  community  instead  of  a  tax  on  the  Government.  They 
number  about  five  thousand  souls  living  within  our  boundaries. 

Now  I  come  to  the  Indians  of  Colorado.  They  never  reaped  the  benefit  of 
the  Spanish  colonization,  because  the  Spaniards  never  extended  their  con 
quests  north  of  the  Gila.  They  are  of  the  same  family,  and  are  affiliated 
with  the  Pimas,  and  desire  to  live  in  the  same  manner.  But  they  have  no 
means  of  exercising  their  industry.  As  far  as  that  portion  of  our  Indian 
country  is  concerned,  they  never  have  had  an  officer  of  the  Government 


8 

among  them  until  the  last  year.  As  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  I  called 
the  confederated  tribes  of  the  Colorado  in  council  together.  The  council  was 
attended  by  the  principal  chiefs  and  head  men  of  the  Yumas,  Mojaves, 
Yapapias,  Hualapais,  and  Ohemihuevis.  These  tribes  have  an  aggregate  of 
ten  thousand  souls  living  near  the  banks  of  the  Colorado,  from  Fort  Yuma  to 
Fort  Mojave.  They  cultivate  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Colorado  river,  where 
an  overflow  affords  sufficient  moisture;  the  failure  of  an  overflow,  which 
sometimes  happens,  is  considered  a  great  calamity,  and  breeds  a  famine. 
Their  resources  from  game,  fish,  and  wild  fruits  have  been  very  much  cur 
tailed  by  the  influx  of  Americans,  and  it  would  be  dangerous  for  them  to 
visit  their  former  hunting  grounds.  The  fruit  of  the  mesquite  tree,  an  acacia 
flourishing  in  this  latitude,  has  been  the  staff  of  life  to  the  Indians  of  the 
Colorado.  A  prolific  mesquite  will  yield  ten  bushels  of  beans  in  the  hull ; 
the  beans  are  pounded  in  a  mortar  and  made  into  cakes  of  bread  for  the  win 
ter  season,  and  a  kind  of  whisky  is  also  made  of  the  bean  before  it  becomes 
dry  and  hard.  This  resource  for  the  Indians  has  been  very  much  reduced 
since  the  irruption  of  the  Americans  and  Mexicans,  as  the  mesquite  bean  is 
more  nutritious  and  less  dangerous  for  animals  in  that  climate  than  corn.  The 
beans  command,  at  the  different  towns  and  stands  where  they  are  sold  from 
five  to  ten  cents  a  pound  as  they  fall  from  the  tree.  The  improvidence  of 
the  Indians  leads  them  to  sell  all  the  beans  in  the  autumn,  saving  none  for 
the  winter  consumption.  During  the  past  winter  they  were  in  such  a  fam 
ished  condition  that  they  killed  a  great  many  horses  and  cattle  on  the  river, 
mostly  belonging  to  American  settlers,  for  which  claims  are  now  made. 

But  as  the  representative  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  at  that 
time,  I  did  not  undertake  to  make  a  written  treaty  with  these  Indians,  be 
cause  I  considered  that  the  Government  was  able  and  willing  to  treat  them 
fairly  and  honestly  without  entering  into  the  form  of  a  written  treaty,  which 
has  been  heretofore  so  severely  criticised  in  both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  with 
some  reason.  These  Indians  there  assembled  were  willing,  for  a  small  amount 
of  beef  and  flour,  to  have  signed  any  treaty  which  it  had  been  my  pleasure  to 
write.  I  simply  proposed  to  them  that  for'all  the  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  square  miles,  full  of  mines  and  rich  enough  to  pay  the  public  debt 
of  the  United  States,  they  should  abandon  that  territory  and  confine  them 
selves  to  the  elbow  in  the  Colorado  river,  not  more  than  seventy-five  thousand 
acres.  But  I  did  not  enter  into  any  obligation  on  account  of  the  United 
States  to  furnish  them  with  seeds  and  agricultural  implements.  I  simply 
old  them  that  if  1  was  elected  to  represent  that  Territory  in  this  Congress  I 


9 

would  endeavor  to  lay  their  claims  before  the  Government,  which  they  under 
stood  to  be  magnanimous,  and  that  I  hoped  that  this  Congress  would  have 
the  generosity  and  the  justice  to  provide  for  these  Indians,  who  have  been 
robbed  of  their  lands  and  their  means  of  subsistence,  and  that  they  may  be 
allowed  to  live  there  where  they  have  always  made  their  homes.  They  desire 
to  live  as  do  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  Those  Pueblo 
Indians  live  in  settlements,  in  towns,  in  reservations,  according  to  the  wise 
policy  of  the  Spanish  Government,  which  colonized  the  Indians  in  reserva 
tions  and  made  their  labor  valuable  in  building  improvements  for  their  own 
sustenance,  for  churches,  and  public  improvements,  and  in  that  manner  made 
them  peaceable  Indians,  instead  of  having  everlasting  and  eternal  war  with 
the  people  whom  they  had  robbed  of  their  land. 

These  people  having  been  citizens  of  the  Mexican  Government,  are  not, 
according  to  our  theory,  entitled  to  any  right  in  the  soil ;  and  therefore  no 
treaty  with  these  Indians  for  the  extinction  of  their  title  to  the  soil  would  be 
recognized  by  this  Government.  It  is  a  fiction  of  law  which  these  Indians, 
in  their  ignorance,  are  not  able  to  understand.  They  cannot  see  why  the 
Indians  of  the  Northeast  have  been  paid  annuities  since  the  foundation  of  this 
Government  for  the  extinction  of  their  title,  while  the  Indians  who  were 
formerly  subject  to  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  Governments  are  driven  from 
their  lands  without  a  dollar.  It  is  impossible  for  these  simple-minded  people 
to  understand  this  sophistry.  They  consider  themselves  just  as  much  entitled 
to  the  land  which  their  ancestors  inhabited  before  ours  landed  on  Plymouth 
Rock  as  the  Indians  of  the  Northeast.  They  have  never  signed  any  treaty 
relinquishing  their  right  to  the  public  domain. 

I  beg  to  lay  before  you  a  memorial  of  the  territorial  Legislature  on  the 
subject : 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  IT/iUed  States  in  Congress  assembled  : 
Your  memorialists,  the  Council  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Arizona,  respectfully  represent,  That  the  four  tribes  of  In 
dians  known  as  the  Yapapais,  Hualapais,  Mojaves,  and  Yumas,  numbering  about  ten 
thousand,  are  now  scattered  over  an  extent  of  country  from  the  Gila  river  on  the  south 
to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Territory,  and  from  the  Colorado  river  on  the  .west  to 
the  Rio  Verde  on  the  east ;  that  these  Indians  are  now  roaming  at  large  over  the  vast 
territory  above  described,  gaming  a  precarious  subsistence  from  the  small  patches  of 
land  along  the  Colorado  river,  which  they  cultivate,  and  from  fishing  and  hunting  ;  that 
when  the  seasons  are  unfavorable  to  their  little  farming  interests,  or  the  Colorado  river 
does  not  overflow  to  irrigate  and  enrich  their  fields,  they  are  reduced  to  a  starving  con 
dition,  and  compelled,  by  necessity,  to  make  raids  upon  the  stock  and  property  of  the 


10 

whites,  and  not  unfrequently  do  they  ambush  the  traveler  and  miner,  and  waylay  and 
stampede  the  stock  of  trains  and  plunder  their  packs  and  wagons ;  that  the  whites  are 
settling  up  the  country,  and  necessarily  diminishing  their  means  of  subsistence,  and 
increasing  the  dangers  of  a  collision  with  them ;  that  the  late  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs  of  the  Territory,  Hon.  Charles  D.  Poston,  in  view  of  their  scattered  and  destitute 
condition,  selected  and  caused  to  be  laid  off,  on  the  east  bank  and  bottom  of  the  Colo 
rado  river,  a  reservation  ample  enough- for  the  accommodation  and  support  of  all  the 
above-named  tribes ;  that  an  irrigating  canal  can  be  constructed  at  an  expense  of  a 
small  amount  (the  Indians  performing  the  labor)  that  will  render  highly  productive  a 
large  tract  of  land  that  will  yield  an  abundance  for  their  support,  and  afford  a  large  sur 
plus  to  be  disposed  of  for  their  education  and  improvement;  that  when  placed  upon 
said  reservation  they  can,  under  judicious  management,  be  made  not  only  self-sustain 
ing,  but  to  produce  largely  for  the  market ;  that,  to  enable  those  who  may  be  placed 
over  them  or  have  charge  of  them  to  open  said  canal,  to  remove  them  upon  said  reser 
vation,  and  sustain  them  until  they  can,  by  their  own  labor,  provide  enough  for  their 
subsistence,  your  memorialists  respectfully  ask  of  your  honorable  body  an  appropria 
tion  of  $150,000  ;  that  to  secure  the  attention  and  favorable  consideration  of  the  subject 
and  matters  of  this  memorial  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States — 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Arizona,  That  our  Dele 
gate  in  Congress,  Hon.  Charles  D.  Poston,  be  requested  to  use  all  honorable  means  to 
bring  the  subject  before  Congress; 

Andbe  it  further  resolved,  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Ari 
zona  be  requested  to  forward  this  memorial,  together  with  such  other  information  touch 
ing  the  subject  as  he  may  have  in  his  possession,  to  Hon.  Charles  D.  Poston,  our  Delegate 
in  Congress. 

W.  CLAUDE  JONES, 
Speaker  of  the  Rouse  of  Representatives. 
COLES  BASHFORD, 

President  of  the  Council 
Approved  November  7. 1864. 

JOHN  M.  GOODWIN. 

In  order  that  the  proposition  may  be  clearly  understood,  I  will  read  the 
report  of  the  engineer  who  accompanied  ine  on  an  examination  of  the 
valley  of  the  Colorado  to  select  a  reservation  for  these  Indians: 

LA  PAZ  CITY,  ARIZONA,  May  30,  1864. 

SIB:  At  your  request  I  have  made  an  examination  of  the  lands  on  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Colorado  river,  from  La  Paz  to  Corner  Rock. 

I  have  been  surprised  at  the  great  quantity  of  rich  bottom  land  and  alluvial  soil, 
traversed  by  many  sloughs  and  lagunas,  which  extend  from  the  banks  of  the  river  for 
several  miles  into  the  valley.  Most  of  them  are  dry  now,  as  the  river  did  not  rise  high 
enough  last  year  to  fill  them . 

I  directed  my  special  attention  to  the  lands  between  Halfway  Bend  and  the  Mesa. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  stretches  of  heavy  sand  land  which  I  estimate  at  about  one 


11 

fifth  of  the  entire  area,  I  found  the  soil  excellent,  most  of  it  consisting  of  a  light  loam, 
of  which  many  thousand  acres  are  covered  with  mesquite  trees,  a  sure  indication  of  rich 
ground,  while  willows  and  cotton  trees  grow  luxuriantly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river,  the 
sloughs,  and  lagunas. 

At  some  places  I  noticed  alkaline  efflorescences,  but  they  are  not  extensive.  If  these 
places  could  be  regularly  overflowed,  much  of  the  salts  would  be  carried  off.  It  is  well 
known,  moreover,  that  Indian  corn  and  wheat  grow  well  in  alkaline  soil. 

If  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  intended  reservation  runs  from  the  mouth  of  the  prin- 
"cipal  slough  at  Halfway  Bend  (the  Indians  call  it  Mad-ku-dap)  in  a  direction  nearly 
north,  26°  30'  east  to  Corner  Rock,  it  will  include  an  area  of  about  118  square  miles, 
equal  to  75,520  acres.  Of  this,  6  square  miles  are  Mesa  lands,  leaving  112  square  miles, 
or  71,680  acres,  of  valley  land.  One  fifth  deducted  as  sand  land  leaves  90  square  miles, 
or  57,600  acres,  of  bottom  land  or  light  loamy  soil.  About  one  fourth  of  this,  say  22 
square  miles,  or  14,080  acres,  is  covered  with  mesquite  trees.  A  large  mesquite  tree 
yields  sometimes  several  bushels  of  beans.  Supposing,  then,  that  in  this  year  every  acre 
produced  five  bushels,  the  crop  would  amount  to  70,400  bushels,  which  with  rabbits, 
lizards,  tuli  roots,  the  fish  of  the  river,  the  little  wheat  and  pumpkins  they  can  raise,  and 
the  sale  of  hay,  may  give  a  precarious  subsistence  this  year  to  the  ten  thousand  Indians 
for  which  the  Government  intends  to  make  provision. 

But  not  taking  into  consideration  that  many  Indians  do  not  relish  mesquite  beans, 
the  mesquite  trees  do  not  bear  every  year,  and  agriculture  depends  entirely  on  the  cas 
ual  overflows  of  the  river.  Last  year  the  crops  of  the  Indians  amounted  to  very  little, 
and  if  the  river  does  not  soon  rise  it  will  be  the  same  this  year. 

The  most  humane  and  cheapest  way  to  provide  permanently  for  the  Indians,  and  ed 
ucate  at  least  their  rising  generation  to  useful  labors,  would  be,  in  my  humble  opinion, 
that  the  Government  not  only  give  them  the  land  between  Halfway  Bend  and  Corner 
Rock,  but  also  assist  them  in  digging  an  irrigating  canal  from  the  Mesa  toward  Halfway 
Bend.  They  would  then  become  independent  of  the  uncertain  rise  and  fall  of  the  river, 
could  raise  regular  crops,  and  would  soon  be  able  to  sell  a  large  surplus. 

From  Halfway  Bend  to  the  Mesa,  I  noticed  at  various  points  that  the  ground  slopes 
gently  back  from  the  bank  of  the  river  toward  the  valley.  The  best  proofs  of  this  are 
the  numerous  sloughs.  Ascending  finally  the  Mesa  and  looking  down  the  valley,  I  was 
struck  with  the  evident  facility  with  which  a  canal  could  be  dug  to  irrigate  many  thou 
sand  acres  of  the  richest  soil,  barren  only  for  want  of  moisture. 

According  to  Lieutenant  Ives's  report  the  fall  from  the  foot  of  the  Mesa  to  Halfway 
Bend  is  fifty-five  feet,  the  distance  by  land  twenty-seven  miles.  The  foot  of  the  Mesa 
seems  to  have  been  destined  by  nature  for  the  head  of  a  canal.  The  river  flows  to  this 
point  between  hills  of  conglomerate,  upon  which  freshets  can  make  but  little  impression. 
A  few  piles  would  make  an  efficient  wing-dam.  A  belt  of  willow  and  ash  trees  should 
protect  the  lower  embankment  for  the  first  few  miles. 

At  the  foot  of  the  Mesa  I  estimated  the  difference  of  level  between  the  bottom  of  the 
river  and  the  top  of  its  upper  bank  fourteen  feet. 

Following  the  natural  level  of  the  country,  and  giving  one  foot  fall  to  the  mile,  which 
is  much  for  a  large  body  of  water,  then,  after  fourteen  miles  of  canal,  all  the  land  be 
tween  the  canal  and  the  river  for  the  remaining  thirteen  miles  could  be  irrigated.  If  the 


12 

canal  were  at  this  point  only  two  miles  distant  from  the  river,  deducting  one  fifth  for 
sand  land,  20  square  miles,  or  12,800  acres,  up  to  Halfway  Bend,  could  be  irrigated.  But 
long  before  the  canal  has  reached  the  first-mentioned  point,  sloughs  could  be  filled,  de 
pressed  flats  overflowed  by  branch  ditches,  and  many  Indians  could  plant  little  patches 
along  the  embankments  of  the  canal  while  it  is  in  progress  of  construction. 

Taking,  now,  twenty  square  miles  as  a  minimum  of  irrigable  land  at  thirty  bushels 
of  Indian  corn  per  acre,  they  could  produce  384,000  bushels ;  and  at  twenty  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre,  256,000  bushels ;  one  third  of  which,  even  with  the  propensity  of  the 
Indians  to  waste,  would  be  more  than  sufficient  for  home  consumption  of  ten  thousand 
souls,  allowing  to  each  of  them,  women,  children,  and  babies  included,  five  hundred 
pounds  of  corn  or  grain. 

How  the  canal  should  actually  be  laid  out,  how  branch  ditches  and  flood-gates  have 
to  be  constructed  and  distributed,  what  amount  of  earth  the  Indians  have  to  remove, 
what  dimensions  it  should  have — what,  finally,  the  cost  of  this  canal  would  be,  (proba 
bly  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,)  all  this  can  only  be  ascertained  by  a  sys 
tematic  survey  of  the  valley  for  that  special  purpose. 

Since  for  years  accustomed  in  my  profession  to  ascertain  scientifically  if  the  plans 
conceived  by  practical  men  can  be  executed,!  feel  some  reluctance  in  making  estimates 
before  I  have  reduced  them  to  a  thorough  scientific  basis.  The  estimates  of  the  amount 
of  land  to  be  reclaimed  from  a  desert,  and  its  productiveness,  are  therefore  rather 
underrated. 

The  foregoing  considerations  have  convinced  me  that  the  lands  between  Halfway 
Bend  and  Corner  Rock  are  not  only  suitable  for  a  reservation,  but,  in  my  humble  opinion, 
are  in  every  regard  the  best  that  could  be  selected  in  this  section  of  Arizona. 

The  difference  of  level  between  Halfway  Bend  and  La  Paz  is  twenty-eight  feet  for  a 
distance  of  nine  miles  by  land,  so  that  the  canal  could  easily  be  continued  from  Halfway 
Bend  to  the  foot  of  the  valley,  changing  La  Paz  from  "  the  city  of  the  desert"  to  the  city 
of  a  terrestrial  Eden  of  laughing  gardens  and  waving  grain  fields. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

EADOLPHUS  F.  WALDEMAR, 

Civil  Engineer. 
Col.  CHARLES  D.  POSTON,  Superintendent  Indian  Affairs,  La  Paz,  Arizona  Territory. 

Irrigating  canals  are  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  these  Indians.  Without 
water  there  can  be  no  production,  no  life  ;  and  all  they  ask  of  you  is  to  give 
them  a  few  agricultural  implements  to  enable  them  to  dig  an  irrigating  canal 
by  which  their  lands  may  be  watered  and  their  fields  irrigated,  so  that  they 
may  enjoy  the  means  of  existence.  You  must  provide  these  Indians  with 
the  means  of  subsistence  or  they  will  take  by  robbery  from  those  who  have. 
During  the  last  year  I  have  seen  a  number  of  these  Indians  starved  to  death 
for  want  of  food.  They  were  eating  the  bark  and  leaves  of  trees,  and  also 
the  lizards,  frogs,  and  snakes,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  procure  any 


13 

of  the  great  natural  curiosities  of  that  country  for  the  Smithsonian  Institu 
tion.  It  was  a  matter  of  profound  regret  that  the  natural  history  of  Arizona 
could  not  be  illustrated  in  that  depository  of  science;  but  the  Starv 
ing  condition  of  the  Indians  forced  them  to  consume  the  wonderful  reptile 
production  of  that  country,  which,  had  a  better  fate  been  reserved  for  them, 
would  have  delighted  my  friend  Professor  Baird  and  the  many  visitors  at 
that  fountain  of  science. 

I  was  especially  charged  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  customs  and  hab 
its  of  the  grasshoppers  or  locusts  of  the  western  plains,  to  determine  if  they 
were  the  locusts  of  Asia,  their  mode  of  procreation,  subsequent  length  of 
life,  and  many  other  interesting  details ;  but  alas  for  the  lights  of  science  and 
opportunity  of  grasshopper  fame,  these  interesting  insects  had  all  disappeared 
down  the  wide-spread  gullets  of  my  red  children.     The  Indian  policy  that  I 
have  the  honor  to  present  to  you  is  simple  and  plain — easily  understood  by 
the  Indians  and  not  to  be  mistaken  by  the  whites.     We  must  have  peace  or 
war  with  the  Indians,  and  I  propose  to  give  them  their  choice.     The  Indians 
that  choose  to  be  friendly  with  the  Americans  and  one  another  will  move 
westward    to  the  reservation  selected    for  them   on  the   Colorado  river 
and  betake    themselves  to    habits  of  industry  and   thrift.     The  Indians 
that  reject  the  proffered  friendship  must    go   eastward   and    mingle  with 
the    barbarous  Apaches  and  share  their  fate.     It   will  then   be  easy  to 
draw  the  distinction  between  friendly  and  unfriendly  Indians.     No  Amer 
ican  and  no  friend  of  civilization  will  disturb  or  be  allowed  to  disturb 
the  friendly  Indians  engaged  in  the  active  pursuits  of  productive  indus 
try  on  the  Colorado  reservation.     Here  they  will  have  a  resting-place  and  a 
home  on  the  banks  of  the  river  they  have  bathed  in  since  childhood,  and  with 
the  generous  aid  of  the  great  Government  whose  hapless  wards  they  are,  will 
soon  become  a  self-sustaining  people.     They  will  learn  the  first  great  lesson 
that  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows  they  shall  earn  their  bread,  and  in  due  time 
reap  the  reward  that  sweetens  toil.  ^BHMMlltibnQF 

With  an  irrigating  canal,  the  soil  of  the  Colorado  will  become  wonderfully 
productive.  In  that  latitude  the  sun  is  over-genial ;  and  the  valley,  not  hav 
ing  an  altitude  of  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  possesses  an  immunity  from  snows  and  frosts,  so  destructive  to  crops 
in  more  northern  latitudes.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  valley  of  the  Colo 
rado  may  not  be  made  as  productive  as  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  In  that  tem 
perature,  it  only  needs  the  vivifying  influence  of  water  to  make  the  produc 
tions  of  nature  spring  up  like  magic. 


14 

The  system  of  irrigation  is  no  new  experiment ;  it  existed  in  Egypt  before 
the  pyramids  were  born;  it  was  practiced  in  Asia  before  Confucius  wrote; 
it  was  brought  to  great  perfection  by  the  Aztecs  of  America,  when  our  ances 
tors  were  dressed  in  skins  and  furs,  and  lived  by  the  booty  of  the  chase ;  it  is 
scientific  agriculture,  and  the  only  insurance  against  the  uncertainties  of  a 
crop.  "With  a  proper  system  of  irrigation,  yon  shall  surely  reap  where  you 
sow  ;  yea,  even  twice  or  thrice  per  annum.  The  sediment  of  the  Colorado 
will  plaster  the  walls  of  a  canal  and  make  them  impermeable  to  water ;  such 
is  the  beautiful  arcana  of  nature.  On  this  river  a  lively  commerce  is  already 
springing  up,  and  some  half  dozen  steamboats  plow  its  turbid  waters.  It  is 
navigable  five  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  its  sources  drain  the  Great 
American  Basin.  The  Indians  will  have  a  ready  market  for  their  surplus 
.  production  at  their  very  doors,  and  the  friendly  current  of  the  Colorado  will 
bear  it,  tin  taxed,  to  market. 

It  will  be  necessary  for  the  Government  to  furnish  the  Indians  with  some 
intelligent  superintendence  in  opening  their  irrigating  canal,  and  the  neces 
sary  implements  of  husbandry  and  seeds  to  enable  them  to  raise  a  crop. 
Then  let  them  work  or  starve ;  but  do  not  force  them  to  starve  or  steal  with 
out  first  giving  them  a  chance  to  labor.  It  is  a  cruel  thing  to  force  men 
into  a  new  civilization  without  preparing  them  for  its  duties.  As  the  Amer 
icans  come  into  the  country  the  wants  of  the  Indians  increase ;  but  with 
out  aid  the  means  of  satisfying  these  artificial  wants  are  not  commensu 
rate.  Without  tools  a  man  is  helpless  indeed.  What  would  a  man  do  with 
out  a  knife,  an  ax,  a  hoe,  a  spade,  or  a  shovel?  He  could  make  very  little 
progress  in  agriculture ;  but  tenfold  is  his  power  of  production  increased 
with  these  simple  implements  of  husbandry.  Among  these  Indians,  as  well 
as  all  primitive  "people,  the  women  are  the  "  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers 
of  water,"  the  very  slaves  of  the  lords  of  creation.  It  is  only  where  the 
light  of  Christianity  and  the  spread  of  civilization  illuminate  the  pathway 
of  a  people  that  woman  assumes  a  position  "  a  little  lower  than  the  angels." 
The  Indian  women  have  to  work  out  their  salvation  in  sweat  and  blood, 
or,  lacking  food  and  clothing,  flock  around  a  military  post  like  moths  around 
a  candle.  The  dusky  maidens  of  the  Colorado  are  fast  disappearing  under 
the  influences  of  these  debasing  establishments  of  military  power,  and  soon 
their  graceful  forms  and  melodious  voices  will  be  only  remembered  in  tra 
dition  and  song.  The  disappearance  of  a  people  is  a  melancholy  spectacle, 
and  bodes  no  good  to  us.  The  tide  of  civilization  is  bearing  them  to  eter 
nity  with  the  same  certainty  that  their  native  Colorado  bears  its  sands  to 


15 

the  sea.  On  what  distant  shore  they  will  be  stranded  or  saved  is  a  mys 
tery  which  they  do  not  attempt  to  penetrate.  The  smoke  of  incineration 
floats  away  on  the  breeze,  and  a  few  charred  bones  and  smoldering  ashes 
are  all  that  remain  of  the  "human  form  divine." 

Ireteba,  the  great  chief  of  these  Indians,  was  in  Washington  a  year  ago, 
on  a  visit  to  the  President  and  the  army.  He  returned  to  his  own  country 
much  pleased  with  his  visit  to  the  Americans,  lie  told  his  tribe  that  it  would 
^  be  of  no  use  to  go  to  war  against  the  Americans ;  that  they  were  a  great  peo 
ple,  against  whom  the  Indians  could  never  war  [successfully.  He  made  an 
effective  speech  to  them;  and  he  and  they  agreed  that,  if  the  Americans 
would  deal  with  them  fairly  and  justly,  and  provide  them  with  the  means  of 
existence,  they  would  bury  the  scalps  that  they  had  taken  from  one  another ; 
they  would  bury  the  tomahawk,  and  would  never  strike  an  American  again. 
The  responsibility  now  rests  upon  you.  The  Great  Spirit,  who  deals  alike 
with  the  destinies  of  the  red  man  and  the  white  man,  will  judge  between  you. 
In  the  long  muster-roll  of  nations,  which  will  be  called  after  the  echoes  of 
Gabriel's  trumpet  shall  have  died  away,  if  it  shall  be  found  that  you  have 
dealt  fairly  with  your  red  brethren  on  this  continent,  you  will  stand  before 
the  Dispenser  of  universal  justice  acquitted  of  crime.  If,  on  the  other  hand 
it  shall  be  decided  that  your  track  across  the  continent  has  been  a  succession  of 
wrong,  without  an  honorable  effort  at  reparation,  what  terrible  judgments 
may  be  meted  out  to  you !  We  have  always  time  to  do  justice,  and  to  delay 
it  is  a  crime.  Jt  is  especially  a  duty  to  render  justice  to  the  weak  and  the 
helpless.  Be  merciful  to  the  degenerate,  for  in  the  cycle  of  time  our  own 
doom  may  come. 

It  is  not  alone  for  the  Indians  that  I  ask  your  generosity,  however  much 
may  be  their  due;  but,  looking  far  beyond  the  present  moment,  it  must  be  appa 
rent  to  every  man  who  lifts  his  mind  from  the  struggle  of  the  hour  and  indulges 
in  a  contemplation  of  the  grand  future  of  our  country,  that  the  settlement  of 
the  aborigines  of  the  mineral  Territories  in  reservations  must  precede  the  active 
and  full  development  of  the  great  treasures  of  the  nation.  It  is  to  these  great 
mineral  fields  that  the  financiers  of  the  Government  and  the  world  are  now 
*  looking  for  relief  from  the  financial  embarrassments  consequent  upon  a  civil 
war  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  nations.  The  idea  of  discounting  or  re 
pudiating  the  national  debt  can  never  be  indulged  in  for  a  moment  while  the 
mountains  west  of  the  Sierra  Madre  are  teeming  with  mineral  wealth.  In 
4k  order  to  allow  scope  and  verge  enough  for  our  hardy  and  enterprising  fron 

tiersmen  to  prospect  the  mines  of  Arizona,  it  becomes  necessary  to  have  the 


16 

Indians  colonized  in  a  reservalion,'so  that  a  miner  may  know,  when  he  meets 
an  Indian  in  a  lonely  gorge  in  the  mountains,  whether  he  is  a  friend  or  a  foe. 
Ifc  scarcely  becomes  me  to  allude  to  the  subject;  but  justice  to  the  brave 
and  hardy  pioneers  who  have  risked  their  lives  a  thousand  times  to  carry  the 
institutions  of  the  American  people  into  Arizona  deserves  a  tribute  at  the 
hands  of  their  first  Representative.  No  people  have  ever  endured  the  hard 
ships,  dangers,  and  privations  of  those  brave  and  adventurous  men  who  left 
the  homes  of  their  ancestors  a  thousand  miles  behind  and  penetrated  the  wil- 
derness,  sending  its  golden  sands  into  the  Gulf  of  California. 

In  the  year  1824,  Sylvester  Pat-tie  and  his  son  James,  from  Bardstown, 
Kentucky,  with  a  party  of  about  one  hundred  hardy  and  adventurous  fron 
tiersmen,  set  out  upon  a  trapping  expedition  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Ar 
kansas  river.  After  many  romantic  adventures  in  New  Mexico,  the  party 
dispersed,  and  a  few  of  the  boldest  spirits  undertook  to  reach  the  Pacific 
ocean.  They  spent  one  winter  at  the  celebrated  mines  of  Santa  Eita  del 
Cobre,  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Gila  river,  and  the  next  spring  trapped 
down  that  river  to  its  confluence  with  the  Colorado.  Here  they  embarked 
their  canoes  on  the  turbid  waters  of  the  Colorado,  and  drifted  down  to  the 
Gulf  of  California,  whence  they  crossed  the  peninsula  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 
Here  they  were  imprisoned  by  the  Spanish  commandant  at  San  Diego,  and, 
after  along  and  cruel  confinement,  the  elder  Pattie  died  in  prison. 

The  oldest  living  trapper  in  Arizona  at  this  day  is  old  Pauline  Weaver,  from 
"White  county,  Tennessee.  His  name  is  carved  in  the  Casa  Grande,  near  the 
Pima  villages,  on  the  Gila  river,  under  date  of  1832.  This  old  man  has  been 
a  peacemaker  among  the  Indians  for  many  years,  and  is  now  spending  the 
evening  of  his  life  in  cultivating  a  little  patch  of  land  on  the  public  domain 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  Territory  of  Arizona,  on  a  beautiful  little  stream 
called  the  Hassiamp. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  our  western  country  the  pioneers  formed  the 
advancing  wave  of  civilization,  and  were  generously  sustained  by  the  friends 
and  relations  they  had  left  behind ;  but  the  pioneers  of  Arizona  leaped  be 
yond  the  reach  of  succor  and  led  the  forlorn  hope  of  civilization.  Self-reliant 
and  full  of  manhood,  they  went  forth  to  battle  alone.  And  manfully  they 
bore  themselves  in  the  struggle,  until  overborne  by  the  misfortunes  which 
have  nearly  enveloped  the  nation  in  ruin.  Many  of  them  had  seen  the  glori 
ous  banner  of  our  country  carried  to  the  tides  of  the  Pacific  ocean,  where  na 
ture  said  to  man :  "  Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther."  We  had  to  turn 
our  course  southward,  and  sought  the  unpeopled  lands  of  Northern  Mexico. 


17 

The  Government  followed  in  the  train  of  the  people,  and  in  a  period  of 
great  prosperity,  when  the  Treasury  was  overflowing  with  gold,  gave 
$10,000,000  for  what  was  called  the  Gadsden  purchase.  The  people  rushed 
into  the  new  "  purchase"  and  soon  the  indomitable  industry  and  energy  of  the 
coming  race  was  apparent  in  the  discovery  of  mineral  wealth  and  the  estab 
lishment  of  relations  with  the  nearest  commercial  centres.  The  industry  of 
our  people  soon  spread  a  beneficial  influence  in  all  Northern  Mexico  ;  the  In 
dians  were  softening  under  the  influence  of  civilization,  and  I  wish  the  sequel 
could  be  omitted.  Would  that  Lethean  waters  could  produce  oblivion.  In 
less  than  sixty  days  after  the  demon  of  civil  war  had  commenced  his  ravages 
on  this  side  the  continent,  the  infant  settlements  of  Arizona  were  abandoned 
and  the  track  of  receding  civilization  was  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
this  country  turned  eastward,  marked  in  its  reti'eat  by  new-made  graves.  For 
two  years  the  Territory  remained  a  prey  to  anarchy. 

At  the  end  of  that  time,  by  the  indefatigable  efforts  of  a  few  fast  friends, 
a  provisional  government  for  the  Territory  was  organized,  and  a  staff  of  Fed 
eral  officers  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  and  character  were  sent  across 
the  plains  to  establish  civil  government  in  that  remote  region.  In  the  over 
whelming  events  of  the  great  civil  war  impending,  it  was  a  grand  moral 
spectacle  to  see  the  Republic  sending  its  agents  to  a  remote  and  distant  Ter 
ritory  to  plant  the  banner  of  freedom  on  the  ruins  of  a  former  civilization. 
We  are  but  repeating  history  in  following  the  footsteps  of  the  Aztecs  from 
their  northern  homes  to  Central  Mexico.  The  civil  officers  sent  out  by  the 
President  have  discharged  this  duty,  and  discharged  it  well. 

At  a  greater  distance  from  this  capital  than  any  proconsul  ever  planted  the 
eagles  of  Rome  from  the  imperial  city  they  established  the  stars  and  stripes 
of  the  Republic.  In  a  beautiful  lap  of  the  mountains,  where  never  white  man 
trod  before,  they  located  the  capital  of  the  Territory  and  named  it  in  honor 
-  of  the  Aztec  historian,  Prescott.  On  this  very  spot  there  is  an  Indian  mound 
with  the  remains  of  an  ancient  fortification  of  the  Montezumas,  reminding 
us  forcibly  of  the  mutations  of  time  and  the  rise  and  decline  of  nations ;  but 
nowhere  yet  in  ruins  do  we  find  a  temple  dedicated  to  the  living  God.  Let 
us  take  warning  and  lay  deep  the  foundations  of  the  Christian  faith,  not  only 
in  the  monuments  of  Christianity,  but  in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

In  that  peaceful  mountain  home  no  sectional  political  differences  rankle  in 
the  heart.  It  was  my  good  fortune  on  the  last  anniversary  of  our  Independ 
ence  to  assist  in  its  celebration  in  that  primitive  capital.  The  people  who 
had  borne  the  banner  of  freedom  from  Bunker  hill  to  those  distant  moun- 


18 

tains  and  the  men  who  had  escaped  the  horrors  of  war  in  the  Old  Dominion 
joined  in  fraternal  celebration  of  Independence  day,  and  consecrated  them 
selves  to  the  future  prosperity  of  the  Territory.  And  there  in  those  ever 
lasting  mountains  the  genius  of  the  American  people  will  build  a  capital 
which  will  rear  its  domes  and  spires  to  the  heavens  when  "  Time  shall  doubt 
of  Rome." 

Such  is  the  genius  of  American  civilization.  It  may  be  impeded  now  by 
the  horrors  of  civil  war,  but  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  it  will  overleap 
the  boundary  of  nations  like  an  avalanche,  and  spread  itself  over  Northern 
Mexico.  It  is  destiny,  and  it  may  be  a  duty  to  carry  our  institutions  into 
that  country ;  and  God  send  the  day  when,  as  a  united  people,  we  may  heal 
the  discords  of  civil  war  by  joining  the  armies  now  engaged  in  fratricidal 
strife  to  drive  from  this  continent  the  fungus  of  European  monarchy.  I  am 
willing  to  join  in  paoans  to  universal  emancipation  for  the  sake  of  national 
unity.  "The  nationality  of  the  American  people"  is  the  motto  upon  which 
I  was  sent  into  this  House,  and  when  it  ceases  I  shall  leave  it  without  regret. 

It  is  a  source  of  extreme  mortification  that  I  am  unable  to  present  this 
amendment  with  the  approbation  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  but 
it  has  not  been  possible  to  bring  them  to  an  estimate  of  the  justness  and  im 
portance  of  the  measure.  If  the  same  economy  pervades  every  branch  of 
the  administration  of  the  Government,  the  tax-payers  will  have  no  cause  of 
complaint.  We  have  neither  military  protection,  mail  facilities,  nor  any  of 
the  fostering  cares  of  Government ;  but  we  prefer  rather  to  indulge  in  pleas 
ant  hopes  of  the  future  than  unworthy  complaint.  The  Pacific  States  and 
Territories  are  rich  in  wealth,  filling  up  rapidly  with  an  indomitable  popula 
tion,  and  "by-and-by  will  grow  a  little  stronger."  Confiden^  in  strength  and 
hopeful  of  the  future,  we  are  willing  to  "  bide  our  time/'  With  five  hundred 
thousand  square  miles  of  mineral  lands,  we  do  not  despair.  With  a  climate 
surpassing  any  other  part  of  the  continent,  and  perhaps  of  the  world,  we 
shall  "  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth." 

No  Alpine  top  nor  Apennine  valley  is  waked  to  industry  by  a  brighter  sun 
light  than  bathes  the  mountains  and  valleys  of  Arizona.  It  is  the  land  of  the 
olive  and  the  vine.  The  pearls  of  the  Orient  were  not  richer  in  purity  and 
value  than  those  of  the  sea  of  Cortez.  The  gold  of  Ophir  was  not  so  abundant 
as  that  which  awaits  the  hand  of  industry  in  our  pregnant  mountains.  The 
"  planchas  de  Plata"  are  the  richest  silver  mines  known  to  history.  We  are 
the  children  of  your  loins ;  give  us  sympathy.  We  are  brethren  of  the  same 
family ;  give  us  help.  Nurture  us,  strengthen  us,  raise  us  up  to  dignity,  and 


19 

in  a  few  short  years  we  shall  come  to  add  another  block  to  this  grand  mosaic 
temple  of  freedom  which  we  hope  will  endure  to  the  remotest  ages. 

The  uniform  courtesy  and  kindness  with  which  the  Delegates  from  the 
remote  Territories  are  received  in  this  capital  inspires  the  most  grateful 
emotions. 

As  this  is  the  first  occasion  on  which  I  have  presumed  to  occupy  the  valu 
able  time  of  the  House,  accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  kind  attention. 

Mr.  STEVENS.  1  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  object  to  the  proposition  of 
the  gentleman  from  Arizona,  [Mr.  POSTON,]  who  represents  a  very  worthy 
'Territory.  An  application  for  an  appropriation  of  this  kind  was  made  to  the 
Oommittee  of  Ways  and  Means,  who,  on  examining  the  matter,  thought  such 
an  appropriation  a  little  premature.  There  have  been  as  yet  no  treaties  with 
the  Indians  under  which  appropriation  should  be  made.  We  found  there 
were  some  four  or  five  thousand  very  excellent  white  men  in  the  Territory, 
and  that  the  remainder  were  Indians ;  and  we  made  such  appropriations, 
which  have  already  passed  here,  as  were  necessary  for  the  proper  organiza 
tion  of  the  Territory.  We  did  not  think  it  would  be  proper  to  organize  this 
great  Indian  system  at  this  time.  We  thought  that  it  would  be  better  for  us 
to  wait  until  the  whole  matter  can  be  fully  considered  and  reported  on  by  the 
commission  which  we  have  already  appointed  for  that  purpose.  The  Com 
mittee  of  Ways  and  Means  were  reluctant,  on  account  of  the  eloquent  gentle 
man  who  represents  the  Territory,  to  reject  these  large  appropriations,  holding 
them  to  be  wholly  disproportionate. 

I  move  to  strike  out  the  gentleman's  amendment,  and  insert  the  following 

For  increase  of  the  salary  of  the  territorial  judges  of  Arizona,  $1,000  each,  $3,000. 

Mr.  WILSON.  I  ask  whether  this  amendment  is  in  order ;  for  it  is  cer 
tainly  not  germane  to  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Arizona. 

Mr.  STEVENS.  I  move  to  strike  out  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman 
from  Arizona,  and  to  insert  my  amendment  instead  of  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.    The  Chair  overrules  the  point  of  order. 

Mr.  WILSON.  I  desire  to  say  one  word  in  reply  to  the  gentleman  from 
Pennsylvania  who  made  the  declaration  that  there  is  no  provision  of  treaty 
for  these  Indians.  I  remember  well,  when  the  Indian  appropriation  bill  was 
under  discussion  a  few  days  since,  that  we  were  told  by  gentlemen  that  appro 
priations  were  necessary  for  certain  tribes  of  Indians  in  Oregon  and  Wash- 


20 

ington  because  there  were  no  treaties  with  them.  Now,  if  it  were  a  good 
reason  to  make  appropriations  for  the  Indians  of  Oregon  and  Washington 
that  there  had  been  no  treaties  made  with  them,  I  do  not  see  why  the  same 
reason  may  not  be  urged  in  the  case  of  Arizona.  I  do  not  know  whether  the 
sum  is  too  large  or  too  small ;  but  I  do  know  that  the  same  reason  which  car 
ried  the  appropriation  for  the  Indians  of  Washington  and  Oregon  ought  to 
induce  the  adoption  of  the  appropaiation  for  Arizona. 

Mr.  STEVENS.     I  withdraw  my  amendment. 

Mr.  WILSON.     I  move  to  reduce  the  appropriation  to  $100,000. 

Mr.  POSTON.     I  accept  that  as  a  modification  of  my  amendment. 

The  question  recurred  on  Mr.  POSTOS'S  amendment,  as  modified. 
The  committee  divided;  and  there  wero — ayes  54,  noes  43. 
So  the  amendment  was  adopted. 


